What Is Discourse

There are two types of definition traditionally given for the term “discourse.” Formal definitions typically characterize discourse as a unit of coherent language consisting of more than one sentence; functional definitions characterize discourse as language in use (Schiltin, 1994). Taken alone, both of these definitions are deficient. A piece of discourse in context can consist of as little as one or two words, as in “Stop” or “No Smoking.” Alternatively, a piece of discourse can consist of hundreds of thousands of words as in the case of very long novel. Usually, a piece of discourse falls somewhere in between these two extremes. The notion of “sentence” is not always relevant-especially when we consider spoken discourse. Likewise, the phrase “language in use” is so general that it can be almost meaningless. It presupposes that we know what “language” consist of and that a piece of discourse is an instance of putting elements of language to use.

The most satisfying definition of discourse is one that combines these two perspectives: A piece of discourse is an instance of spoken or written language that has describable internal relationships of form and meaning (e.g, all the relevant situational, social, and cultural factors) in which the piece of discourse occurs. Using a language entails the ability to both interpret and produce discourse in context in spoken and written communicative interaction which is why we assign such a central role to discourse in our discussion of frameworks that should inform language teaching.